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1996 Evinrude 225

June 21st, 2001, 02:31 PM

My latest debacle. I have(had) a single 1996 225 on a 1996 247cc Edgewater(Bought as a leftover in 1998). After about 300 hundred hours and smaller engine problems, the big one hit. The roller bearings in the bearing head broke. This in turn damaged the flywheeland the crank shaft. The dealer assured me it was not my fault but, "things happen". I am now faced with a dilemma. 1) Which engine to repower with? 2) Do I even trust OMC(Bombardier) 3) New or used 4) How does something that cost 12-14 G's new justseize up after 300 hundred hours. Thoughts andideas would be greatly appreciated. TIA

Everyone (well, allmost everyone) bad-mouths the old Force outboards. However,a quick read of Florida Sportsman online, Bass Fishing Home Page (BFHP.COM), and other pages like this one, will show you are not alone by a long shot. The Fichts have recalls, Optimax are not presently being shipped, and other "new-tech" engines are croaking like frogs after rain. We owe this to the feds, in thier attempt to "clean-up" those dirty 2 cycle outboards. Who cares that 2 cycle engines seem to be made for marine use? So you get a barage of 4 cycle outboards,which are heavier, and plaqued with "new-tech" flaws of thier own.This leaves us with 3 choices...1, Buy a new engine and pray to Neptune it holds.2, Buy a tried-and-true used outboard and pray6 to Neptune it holds.3,Cut a large hole in the transom,and throw an I/O in there.But no matter which way you turn, you "spin the wheel". It's a matter of luck and initial prefferance, I guess.Sorry to hear about the meltdown.

"Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all
right now."

Comment

Real sorry to hear about your engine troubles, Hanginin. 12Footer is right, though. If BMW or Mercedes made outboards there would still be an occasional catastrophic failure. Does your wrench write her off as not repairable at any price, or is it your decision to look to new power?Think about a pair of 115 EFI four strokes from Yamaha, Mercury or Suzuki if you can handle the tarrif and the weight.To repower with a single I recommend either Yamaha or Suzuki Injected 225. Yamaha has a better dealer network and very high parts prices, Susuki has a slightly better product and parts prices if you can find a dealer.Bombardier hasn't yet proved to me that they can make the big FICHTs safe and Merc hasn't proved to me that they can build engines as good as the ones they buy from Yamaha,Bottom line? Yamaha 225 VMax.Good luck,JB